Joe Burrow shoved a furious Ja’Marr Chase on Sunday following a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the wide receiver in a loss to the Chiefs.
With the Bengals driving into Kansas City territory in the fourth quarter, Chase caught a four yard pass from Burrow but felt a penalty should’ve been called on the Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie for a hip-drop tackle.
The wide receiver then got in the face of an official to argue against the no-call – leading to a 15-yard penalty and a fiery confrontation with Burrow.
The quarterback, who also played with Chase in college at LSU, shoved his top target away from the referee and yelled in his face after his significant mental error.
Chase was then seen having an impassioned chat with head coach Zac Taylor on the sideline, with the coach attempting to calm his player down after he threw his helmet on the ground.
Joe Burrow shoved Ja’Marr Chase away from a referee after the receiver committed a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
Burrow yelled in the face of his longtime teammate after the Bengals moved back 15 yards
The receiver’s penalty turned a 3rd and 7 into a 3rd and 22, and the Bengals were forced to kick a field goal after Mike Gesicki was able to get 10 yards back on the next play.
Evan McPherson’s 53-yard make did give the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 9:28 remaining, but Kansas City would ultimately come out on top.
Harrison Butker made a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give the two-time defending champs a 2-0 record this season – and condemn the Bengals to an 0-2 start.
After the game, referee Alex Kemp told pool reporter Ben Baby that the decision to flag Chase was ‘pretty clear cut.’
Chase had an impassioned conversation with Bengals coach Zac Taylor on the sidelines
‘It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official. That’s all it was. And there was really no interpretation. I’m not going to repeat to you what he said.’
Asked how an official decides when a player has crossed the line in that sort of situation, he added that Chase’s remarks were ‘personal abusive language’ rather than ‘profanity used by grown men.’
‘That’s the line,’ he said. ‘When that line gets crossed, we simply can’t let that happen in pro football.’
As if the loss won’t sting enough, Chase will likely now be fined by the NFL as well.
